Rescue Dog...?

[jaydubs]

So here's the concept. Get a riding dog. Train it for purpose: rescue. It acts essentially like an adventuring pack animal, generally staying in sight but out of combat. But, whenever an ally falls unconsious, it runs in and drags the ally to safety.

Now the part I'm not so sure about. While I know I can put magic items on animals, can they "use" them? So can I slap a Healing Belt on a riding dog, and train it to revive party members after dragging them out of a fight?

[Reprimand]

I'm not sure about being able to active magic items but saint brenards often carried medical supplies to injured people in the snowy climates I don't see why a riding dog couldn't be training to fetch potions and run them to allies. It can probably be trained to identify each potion using smell and carry the appropriate potions to the person.

You could also incorporate dog whistles into it. A sharp means cure light etc etc.

EDIT: dragging allies might provoke AoOs from monsters with reach I hope that pooch has a few extra HD.

[Galvin]

I don't think the dog could activate the magic item by itself, as most magic items are activated by a verbal command word or by touching the item and imparting a mental force into it, forcing it to activate. As stated above, a dog could pull creatures from combat or bring potions to combat, but couldn't activate belts of healing or anything.

[Splendor]

If you could custom create a magical item, maybe?

Something like a harness that activates and affects the person the dog lays on. This would be the 'activation' part of the magical item.

So the dog would be trained to pull someone out of danger and then lay on them. Thus activating the magical item. A harness that is similar to a healing belt that can't use more than one charge per activation. It also would only be wearable by canines.

The problem would be if the dog saw more than one person get knocked down in combat. Would it go after the first to fall or the second person? Would it pull the first away and not lay on them, instead going for the second person? Would it 'rescue' enemies and heal them?

[Fouredged Sword]

Issues of complex situations can be resolved through training. We teach dogs to act as eyes in the complex modern world.

A dog would be able to retrieve potions, through I would keep it a pack of cure light wound potions for simplicity.

For magic items like wands, have the party beguiler's raven familiar ride on the dogs back with a wand of cure light wounds. It could also negate damage to the dog with ride checks.